After ongoing construction has taken place inside of and around Lindsey Nelson Stadium for quite some time now, fans will be treated to the near-finished product when they walk into the ballpark or see it on TV this weekend as Tennessee Baseball officially opens its season and the Josh Elander era.
Tennessee’s athletic department and building teams have put their heart and soul into renovating the Vols’ ballpark and bringing it up to the standards of other venues on Tennessee’s campus. With the changes that are now nearly complete, fans will immediately be able to see that hard work in front of them as they watch the Vols compete.
The new capacity of the ballpark is 8,012 as a starting point. However, Tennessee says that it has a number of spaces that it knows can have standing room only, but the number of people that can comfortably stand in there is still something that’s been worked through. Tennessee says that it will continue to work on growing that number as it gets a feel for its new stadium and the space it possesses.
Whether watching on TV or roaming the stadium in person, it’s impossible not to see just how much has been added to the stadium structure as a whole. From a beautiful upper deck behind home plate that wraps from dugout to dugout, to the suites and standing-room spaces in that area, Tennessee has done a great job of figuring out how to add to the stadium without subtracting from the feel that the ballpark has always had.
“Yeah, I think that was priority one,” Tennessee Deputy AD Alicia Longworth said about keeping the stadium’s intimate feeling during the renovations. “Playing in this ballpark when our fans show up has always been like a hornet’s nest. So keeping our fans on top of the field and on top of the action. Similar to what’s been done in Neyland (Stadium), similar to what’s been done in the Food City Center, playing in any of our venues, there’s this competitive advantage to where the fans sit and how close they are. So we wanted to do the same thing here.”
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The expansion directly ties in with a more improved fan experience, too. Tennessee has more space with its new changes, meaning more restrooms, more concessions, and more places to talk with friends before or during the game.
It’s not quite a 100% finished product yet, but the vast majority of the changes have been completed. When fans head into the stadium on opening weekend, there will be some concessions stands with a “coming soon” tag on them, but Tennessee assures that it’s working hard to get those up and running as quickly as possible this season.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Longworth noted as fans prepare to enter the gates of Lindsey Nelson Stadium in just two days. “You all will see this today, there is a lot going on from cleaning and the construction crews are still here. What our fans will see this weekend is awesome, but I promise you, each weekend it’s going to continue to get better. So, if something’s not open, if your kids love pizza, just give me a couple of weeks, we will get them pizza. If your kids love ice cream, we will also get there and get our ice cream shop open, but that will not be open this weekend. But we will continue to make it better each week.”
Tennessee also teased an exciting addition to the fan experience, but saved the details for a future announcement down the road. In addition to new stadium lights that can be programmable with different colors, Tennessee also revealed new fireworks are coming with the addition of the new roof that sits atop the home plate side of the stadium. Longworth was asked if those fireworks were primarily for home runs and game moments, or if things like Friday Night Firework shows could be coming at some point.
“I’d like to leave it a surprise,” Longworth said with a big laugh, indicating that the question might not be too far off from reality.
Tennessee’s new stadium is a masterpiece, especially considering the limited expansion space that its team had to work with. Fans will be delighted by the new renovations, changes, and overall fan experience elements.
The Tennessee Baseball team will kick off the season this Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET against Nicholls.
Here’s a look at some more of the changes and sightlines that the new stadium offers:
